The Recluse of 4B and the Waitresses
by ynotlleb
Summary: A retelling of Episode 1. Penny and Bernadette move in across the hall from Sheldon. Amy and Raj do not appear in this TBBT universe. Everything belongs to Lorre and Prady.
1. Welcome to the building

A retelling of the first episode where Sheldon lives alone in apartment 4B and meets two young ladies who move in across the hall. In this TBBT universe Amy and Raj do not appear. Everything belongs to Lorre and Prady.

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Dressed in their yellow, white and blue Cheesecake Factory uniforms Penny and Bernadette prepared to leave apartment 4A for the first time since they moved in earlier that day.

"OK Bernie, that's enough unpacking for today, time to go and serve food to people."

"That's right Penny, the boys will come over tomorrow and help with the rest of the unpacking."

As they locked the door of 4A behind them they saw a delivery man handing over two large bags of groceries to the occupant of 4B.

"There you go Dr. Cooper, your supplies for another week."

"Thank you for bringing them."

"Hello, I'm Penny"

"and I am Bernadette, we are your new neighbours."

Sheldon said "welcome to the building" as he closed the door behind him.

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Next day Sheldon was walking back up the stairs, he had just done his weekly trash and recycling disposal. He had almost got to the 4th floor when suddenly the power went out. The lights were still out when he got to the door of 4B, Sheldon keyed in the code to unlock his door and nothing happened!

Penny came out of 4A and said "the lights are out in the corridor Bernie, it's not just us. Oh hello neighbour."

The lights came back on and Sheldon tried to unlock his door again.

"Drat, I am locked out."

He took out his phone and made a call

"Good morning, this is Dr. Sheldon Cooper of Apartment 4B, 2311 North Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena. My electronic door lock is not functioning. Very well, I shall see you in 1 hour."

"Would you like to wait in 4A with us Dr. Cooper?"

Sheldon turned round, as if to acknowledge Penny's existence.

"That would be acceptable; thank you Penny."

"You are welcome Dr. Cooper. Bernie, we have a visitor."

Bernadette greeted her neighbour "welcome Dr. Cooper, sorry about the mess but we have just moved in here. Our boyfriends are coming round soon to help us with unpacking. Would you like some coffee or tea?"

"Tea would be acceptable, what do you ladies do for a living?"

"I am an actress."

"I am studying for a Ph.D in microbiology, but we both work at the Cheesecake Factory to pay the bills."

"A Ph.D student, excellent. I have two Ph.D degrees in Physics."

Then there was a knock at the door

"The boys are here" and Penny and Bernadette ran to the door. Penny gave Leonard a big hug and a kiss, Bernadette did the same with Howard. Penny then gave Howard a friendly hug as did Bernadette with Leonard.

"Boys, this is our neighbour Dr. Sheldon Cooper."

"Hello, I am Howard Wolowitz."

"I'm Dr. Leonard Hofstadter, are you THE Sheldon Cooper the theoretical physicist?"

"Yes, I work from home where there are fewer distractions."

"I really enjoyed your string theory Skype seminar last month. Howard and I work at Caltech as well. Howard is an engineer, I am an experimental physicist."

"Pleased to meet you. I am waiting for the lock company to come and reset my electronic door lock, they should be here in 51 minutes."

Then Howard said "do you mind if I have a look at this door lock, I think I might be able to save you 51 minutes."

5 minutes later Howard put the cover back on the key pad and said "try it now Dr. Cooper."

Sheldon keyed in the code, the door opened. Sheldon said "thank you Mr. Wolowitz" as he closed the door behind him.

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30 minutes later. Knock knock knock "Penny and Bernadette", knock knock knock "Penny and Bernadette", knock knock knock "Penny and Bernadette".

"Would you like some help with unpacking?..."


	2. Pizza and Physics

A retelling of the first episode where Sheldon lives alone in apartment 4B and meets two young ladies who move in across the hall. Part 2, when Sheldon socialises for the first time in apartment 4A. Everything belongs to Lorre and Prady.

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The next Friday Leonard and Howard were walking down the corridor at Caltech when they came across Sheldon.

"It's Dr. Cooper, what brings you here? I thought that you worked at home."

"Well Dr. Hofstadter, Caltech want me to talk to the head of the Physics department once a month to tell them about the science I am doing. Professor Gablehauser doesn't really understand what I am talking about, no matter how I try and dumb it down for him. Still, that's what I need to do to get paid so I grin and bear it.

Thank you again for your help with the door lock Mr. Wolowitz. I have had a new lock fitted, this one should have a better battery backup in case of another power failure."

"Glad I could help you Dr. Cooper. Are you busy tonight? Bernie and Penny are having us over for pizza..."

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Leonard and Howard had just arrived at 4A, they had just been hugged by Penny and Bernadette when there was a knock on the door.

Knock knock knock "Penny and Bernadette", knock knock knock "Penny and Bernadette", knock knock knock "Penny and Bernadette".

"Aha our neighbour is here, thanks for asking him Howard."

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, I am here to eat some pizza."

As they ate their pizza Leonard asked Sheldon about his research.

"Oh Dr. Hofstadter it is far too complicated for the likes of you."

"Well Dr. Cooper I may not be at your level but I do have a Ph.D in Physics. Unlike Gablehauser I still do Physics research."

"OK, could one of you ladies please get me some paper and a pen..."

30 minutes later Sheldon had filled several sheets of paper with what seemed to Howard and the ladies to be indecipherable scribbles.

"Well Dr. Hofstadter, you have done a lot better than Gablehauser, it is nice to actually talk to someone who has some idea what is going on. Please excuse me ladies and gentlemen but that is enough socialising for me today. We should do this again sometime, I will pay for pizza."


	3. More Physics talk

A retelling of the first episode where Sheldon lives alone in apartment 4B and meets two young ladies who move in across the hall. Part 3, Sheldon continues to talk Physics. Everything belongs to Lorre and Prady.

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The next Friday night, Leonard and Howard had just been hugged by Penny and Bernadette when there was a knock on the door.

Knock knock knock "Penny and Bernadette", knock knock knock "Penny and Bernadette", knock knock knock "Penny and Bernadette".

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, as promised I bring pizza."

Sheldon put the pizza down on the table, took his seat and immediately started talking Physics.

Five minutes later Sheldon finally realised that nobody was paying attention to what he was saying but that everyone was looking at him in a rather strange way.

"Ah, excuse me. I very rarely socialise these days, you didn't want to hear me talk Physics all night did you? I had such a good time talking with Dr. Hofstadter last week. Please forgive me, I am not being a considerate guest..."

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Monday morning at Caltech. Leonard was in his lab hard at work when he heard a knock at the door.

Knock knock knock "Dr. Hofstadter", knock knock knock "Dr. Hofstadter", knock knock knock "Dr. Hofstadter".

"Dr. Cooper! What brings you here?"

"You bring me here Dr. Hofstadter. I would like to be able to regularly talk Physics with you and any others of your colleagues who may be competent enough to understand my work. Could you please follow me to Professor Gablehauser's office."

Five minutes later.

"Dr. Cooper, I didn't expect you here for another 3 weeks."

"Well Professor Gablehauser I am pleased to tell you that you will no longer have to try and pretend to understand what I am telling you about my research. I have recently got to know two of my new neighbours, one of whom is Dr. Hofstadter's girlfriend. In a recent social gathering I have found that Dr. Hofstadter has a surprisingly strong grasp of my work considering that he is only an experimental physicist. I intend to come to Caltech one day a week for the foreseeable future to discuss my work with Dr. Hofstadter and any other competent physicists involved in research.

Please arrange a seminar room for me for the rest of the day and invite the rest of the competent physicists to discuss my work. I will determine who is worthy. I will need office space one day a week from next week."

Two hours later.

"Well Dr. Hofstadter, the Caltech physicists aren't all as smart as you. Of the dozen I talked with only Dr. Kripke and Dr. Winkle have any idea about my research. You three have made the cut."

"Would you like some lunch Dr. Hofstadter? I normally have lunch with Howard Wolowitz."

"That would be acceptable, I will let you return to your experimental work after lunch."


	4. Tea and microbiology

A retelling of the first episode where Sheldon lives alone in apartment 4B and meets two young ladies who move in across the hall. Part 4, Sheldon talks to Bernadette. Everything belongs to Lorre and Prady.

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Bernadette went up to the door of 4B where there was a big sign.

DR. SHELDON COOPER - DO NOT DISTURB. NO CALLERS WITHOUT AN APPOINTMENT.

Bernadette knocked on the door for a couple of minutes with no response. "Oh well, maybe he is out at Caltech, Howard said he was there a couple of days ago." She wrote a message on a piece of paper and pushed it under the door.

"Dear Dr. Cooper. Just to let you know Penny and I have to work on Friday night at the Cheesecake Factory. You would be welcome to come over for pizza on Thursday evening. Your neighbour Bernadette."

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30 minutes later.

Knock knock knock "Penny and Bernadette", knock knock knock "Penny and Bernadette", knock knock knock "Penny and Bernadette".

Bernadette opened the door to see Sheldon holding the piece of paper.

"Hello Dr. Cooper, won't you please come in."

"Thank you for the note."

"I see you are back home, were you at Caltech."

"No I was working at home."

"Oh, I knocked on your door but got no reply."

"You didn't have an appointment?"

"Oh, how do you get an appointment."

"You send me an email or phone me up."

"Oh, I don't have that information."

"Well I don't give that information out. My family in Texas know it as do Caltech. The food delivery service know as does the building manager."

"What about friends?"

"I don't have any friends."

"What about me and Penny, what about Howard and Leonard?"

"Hmm, I never thought of that."

"Would you like a cup of tea and we can talk about it."

"That would be acceptable."

10 minutes later they were sat on the sofa drinking tea.

"Where is Penny today?"

"She has an audition, we don't have to be at the Cheesecake Factory until tonight. So I am working on my Ph.D thesis."

"How fascinating, what are you researching?"

"Oh Dr. Cooper it is far too complicated for the likes of you."

"Touché. I would be interested to know, even if you have to dumb it down to explain it to a Physicist. I am sure that there must be a some more paper and a pen round here..."

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2 hours, several sheets of paper and another cup of tea later.

"Fascinating stuff Bernadette, I didn't think that icky squishy stuff like this could be so interesting."

"Glad that you found it worthy of your interest Dr. Cooper. Thanks for the hints for the thesis writing."

"You are welcome."

Then Penny came through the door.

"Hi Bernie, another failed audition. Hello neighbour."

"Good afternoon Penny."

"OK Dr. Cooper if you will excuse us we will soon have to get ready for the Cheesecake Factory."

"Of course, thank you Bernadette for an interesting afternoon, here are my email and phone contacts, more efficient than a piece of paper under the door. I shall see you on Thursday for pizza at 7.00pm, good afternoon ladies."


	5. Caltech lunch

A retelling of the first episode where Sheldon lives alone in apartment 4B and meets two young ladies who move in across the hall. Part 5, Sheldon has lunch at Caltech. Everything belongs to Lorre and Prady.

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Next Monday, after Sheldon had discussed his work with his colleagues, he had lunch in the Caltech canteen.

Sheldon opened the conversation "that was a fascinating morning of talking science. Tell me, are Dr. Kripke and Dr. Winkle normally that rude? No scientist has ever called me dumb before?"

Leonard replied "yes, Barry and Leslie can have a colourful way of speaking."

"I must admit in recent years I have lived a somewhat sheltered life, but actually talking face to face with another scientist once in a while appears to be useful. Mr. Wolowitz, I had an interesting afternoon last week talking to your girlfriend about her Ph.D work. It must be a struggle for her to juggle Ph.D study with serving food to people."

Howard replied "well Dr. Cooper, that's what she has to do to fund her studies."

"How long has she been doing this for?"

"She has been a Ph.D student and waitress for 5 years now. Hopefully she should finish next year."

"It has taken her 5 years to get this far? I got my first Ph.D in a year. Tell me Mr. Wolowitz, why haven't you got a Ph.D yet?"

"I was going to start one at MIT after I got my Masters degree but then Caltech and JPL offered me a permanent position as an engineer."

"Don't you feel strange not having a Ph.D."

"Not really, this man without a Ph.D builds things that fly in space. I do practical things, not theory."

"How did you two end up with my neighbours as girlfriends?"

Howard said "I would admire Bernadette from afar in the Cheesecake Factory before I struck up the courage to talk to her. Eventually I asked her out on a date, she said she would do it if I would make it a double date. Her friend Penny had recently broken up with her boyfriend and Bernadette wanted to help her out."

Leonard said "so very reluctantly I agreed to accompany Howard on this double date where I met Penny for the first time. That was two years ago and both couples are still together."


	6. Scientific discussions

A retelling of the first episode where Sheldon lives alone in apartment 4B and meets two young ladies who move in across the hall. Part 6, Sheldon has a day of scientific discussion. Everything belongs to Lorre and Prady.

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Within a month of meeting his new neighbours across the hall Sheldon had got into a new routine. Monday mornings he would go to Caltech to discuss Physics with his colleagues, he would have lunch with Leonard and Howard before returning to his apartment. Thursday nights he would have pizza across the hall with his neighbours and their boyfriends. Apart from that he would stay in his apartment and think about his Physics.

Monday lunchtime and Sheldon was with Leonard and Howard having lunch in the canteen.

"That was another interesting morning of scientific discussion. Dr. Winkle has got some good ideas, I just wish she wasn't so rude in the way she discusses things."

"That's our Leslie" said Leonard "she is quite a character. Did you know that we dated a couple of times before I met Penny."

"Tell me about your work Mr. Wolowitz, I have been talking Physics all morning, what's new in your world of engineering?"

"Thank you for being so considerate Dr. Cooper. I am working on an infrared camera for a NASA Venus spacecraft that is under construction to fly in 2 years time."

"Fascinating, so you hope to see through the clouds around that planet."

"That's right Dr. Cooper, not bad for a man without a Ph.D."

"How is Bernadette doing with her Ph.D?"

"I've not seen her since pizza last Thursday, she said she had a lot of work to do this weekend before she meets her Ph.D supervisor tomorrow."

"Thank you for joining me for lunch gentlemen. Could you please excuse me, Professor Gablehauser wants to see me before I go back home."

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15 minutes later.

"Good afternoon Professor Gablehauser, thank you for seeing me."

"How was your discussion this morning Dr. Cooper?"

"Very interesting, it is nice to be able to discuss my Physics research with people who understand what I am talking about."

"Indeed, thank you for emailing me your latest paper."

"Yes, this has just been submitted. This paper is authored by Cooper, Hofstadter, Kripke and Winkle. My first non-single author paper in six years..."

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Sheldon had just walked up stairs and was about to open the door of his apartment when Bernadette appeared from across the hall.

"Oh good, you are home Dr. Cooper, I need to talk to you. Would you like a cup of tea?"

"Is it about your thesis work, your boyfriend mentioned at lunchtime about your meeting tomorrow."

5 minutes later, over a cup of tea, Bernadette explained her problem.

"Penny is doing my Cheesecake Factory lunch shift today as I have my monthly meeting with my Ph.D supervisor tomorrow. She wants to see a completed thesis chapter and I want your advice."

"Let's have a look at this chapter then."

"It's about my research on one particular bacterium..."

1 hour later.

"What do you think of my suggested changes Bernadette?"

"It looks a lot better now."

"You had everything in there but you didn't emphasise enough in the conclusions. Let me know how things go with your supervisor tomorrow. If you will excuse me I will go back to my apartment now. Thank you for the tea."

"Thank you Dr. Cooper, see you on Thursday for pizza?"

"I shall see you at 7.00pm. Good day to you Bernadette."


	7. Tea with Penny

A retelling of the first episode where Sheldon lives alone in apartment 4B and meets two young ladies who move in across the hall. Part 7, Sheldon talks to Penny. Everything belongs to Lorre and Prady.

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2 days later Sheldon was hard at work in 4B when his phone rang.

"Hello this is Dr. Cooper, to whom am I speaking?"

"Hello this is Penny, would you like to come over for a cup of tea? I have something I wish to discuss with you."

Five minutes later.

"Thank you for the tea Penny, how can I help you?"

"Bernadette is at the Cheesecake Factory, she swapped shifts with me so she could prepare for her meeting at the university. She seemed very happy when she came home yesterday."

"Oh yes, I heard that my suggestions helped with her Ph.D thesis chapter."

"A week tomorrow is Bernadette's birthday, the boys and I are planning a surprise party instead of the usual pizza. Would you like to come to the party?"

"How many people will be there?"

"Oh not many, about 20. Some of my girlfriends, some of the boys friends from Caltech, some of Bernie's friends from her university."

"20, that's a lot when you normally live alone."

"Oh, we will be here to help, and you won't have far to travel home."

"That's true."

"We both have to work the Cheesecake Factory that day, we won't get home until 6pm. The boys are going to leave work early that day and get the party set up."

"Would you like me to help?"

"That would be very nice if you could do that sweetie."

"Why did you call me sweetie?"

"It's just a term of endearment, I say it all the time at work so the customers at the Cheesecake Factory will like me."

"I see, it's just that no-one outside my family has ever used a term of endearment on me before."

"Well fancy that."

"Thank for the tea Penny, I think I will go back to my apartment now. I look forward to seeing you for pizza tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow Sheldon."


	8. Bernadette's Party

A retelling of the first episode where Sheldon lives alone in apartment 4B and meets two young ladies who move in across the hall. Part 8, Bernadette's party. Everything belongs to Lorre and Prady.

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On the day of Bernadette's birthday Sheldon met Leonard and Howard in 4A. "Good afternoon gentlemen, I got my food delivery service to provide some party food. What do you need me to do?"

Leonard said "well Sheldon as you are so tall and we are not could you hang these 'Happy Birthday' signs and then inflate some balloons. Howard and I will sort out the food and drink."

"Do you know that this is my first party since my 11th Birthday party for me and my twin sister."

Howard said "oh boy Sheldon, you have had a sheltered life."

At 6.15pm Leonard got a text from Penny "the girls will be here in 5 minutes", let's get ready.

Five minutes later Penny opened the door

"SURPRISE! Happy Birthday Bernadette."

"Oh boy, is this all for me, thank you boys." Bernadette then went to hug Howard and Leonard.

As Howard and Leonard were hugged by Penny, Sheldon said "Happy Birthday Bernadette. I understand that it is a non-optional social convention to give a gift on such occasions. This is for you" as he handed over a package.

Inside the package were two books, 'A History of Microbiology' and 'How to write a Ph.D thesis.' Also included was a box of tea bags.

"Thank you Sheldon, that is very thoughtful of you." Bernadette hugged Sheldon then said "come over here." Bernadette then stood on the table and kissed Sheldon on the cheek which caused Sheldon to blush a deep shade of red. "You are a lot taller than the other boys Sheldon."

Penny said "OK Bernie, more guests are coming soon so time to get out of the Cheesecake Factory uniform and into some party clothes.

Half an hour later guests started to arrive, Sheldon found himself talking science with some of Bernadette's university friends. Then Barry Kripke and Leslie Winkle turned up.

"Coopah, what brings you here?"

"Well Dr. Kripke, Bernadette is my friend and neighbour, I live across the hall."

"I didn't know that you lived here Dr. Dumbass."

"Really Dr. Winkle, that is not a nice thing to say to someone, especially in a social situation."

Sheldon then turned to Penny and Bernadette "Thank you ladies for the party invitation, I think I will go back to my apartment now, good evening."


	9. Where is Sheldon?

A retelling of the first episode where Sheldon lives alone in apartment 4B and meets two young ladies who move in across the hall. Part 9, the Monday after the party. Everything belongs to Lorre and Prady.

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Next Monday Leonard was waiting in the office that he shared (one day a week) with Sheldon. Leslie Winkle and Barry Kripke were waiting with him for their weekly Physics discussion.

"So where is Dr. Coopah?"

"I don't know Barry, we haven't seen him since he left Bernadette's party last Thursday. He seemed upset when he left."

"Yeah, it's not like Dr. Dumbass to be late."

"You know Leslie, it isn't always necessary to talk that way."

"Well if Coopah isn't here in ten minutes I am off to do some real work."

"That's right Barry, if Dr. Sheldon 'Dumbass' Cooper can't be bothered to turn up to a meeting that he organised then I have better things to do."

Two hours later in the Caltech canteen.

"Hello Leonard, no Sheldon this week?"

"No, he didn't turn up Howard. Tell me, do you know if the girls have seen Sheldon since the party?..."

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Thursday night in 4A, there were some uneaten slices of pizza. Leonard, Penny, Howard and Bernadette were worried about their absent friend from across the hall.

Penny said "still no answer on the phone, he hasn't replied to any emails this week. It is as if he disappeared off the planet after he left the party last week."

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Friday morning. Penny and Bernadette were having breakfast.

"What time is your audition Penny?"

"10.00am, I need to get away soon."

"I have more thesis work to get done today before the Cheesecake Factory."

"Keep me posted during the day if Sheldon reappears."

After Penny left for the audition Bernadette did some tidying up in the kitchen. She found some packaging left over from the food Sheldon got from his food delivery service for the party.

"Good morning, is that the Pasadena food company. Last week we had a birthday party at my apartment, one of my friends brought a wonderful chocolate cake which came from your food delivery service. Would it be possible for me to order another one of these cakes? Yes, my name is Bernadette Rostenkowski, I live in Apartment 4A, 2311 North Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena. You will be delivering to my building later today, that's wonderful. I shall see you at 2pm."


	10. Tea and Cake

A retelling of the first episode where Sheldon lives alone in apartment 4B and meets two young ladies who move in across the hall. Part 10, food delivery. Everything belongs to Lorre and Prady.

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As 2.00pm approached Bernadette looked out of the windows of 4A for the food delivery vehicle. At 1.55pm she saw young man leave his vehicle and walk into the apartment with two big bags of food.

Precisely at 2.00pm the food delivery man knocked on the door of 4A

"Good afternoon Dr. Cooper, here are your supplies for another week."

"Thank you"

"Do you know where Bernadette Rostenkowski lives?"

"Across the hall."

At that moment the door of 4A opened and Bernadette came out.

"Hello, have you got my cake? Hello Sheldon, would you like some tea and cake, I want to discuss my thesis."

Sheldon took his food inside and closed the door behind him.

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15 minutes later

Knock knock knock "Bernadette", knock knock knock "Bernadette", knock knock knock "Bernadette".

"Good afternoon Sheldon, won't you please come in?"

"Sorry to keep you waiting, I had to put my food supplies away."

5 minutes later they were sat on the sofa.

"Thanks for the tea Bernadette, that cake looks good."

"How have you been? We haven't seen you since the party."

"Ah yes. Thank you for inviting me to the party, that was a difficult evening. Why did you hug and kiss me?"

"Well you had just given me a very kind and thoughtful gift. It is a non-optional social convention to acknowledge someone who has given you a gift at a birthday party. Anyway I like to hug my friends, I do it all the time with Howard and Leonard."

"You were the first female to do this who isn't a relative. I know it was meant to be a nice thing but it was rather unsettling. Then all those strange people turned up, although it was nice to talk science with some of your biology colleagues. When my rude colleagues Dr. Kripke and Dr. Winkle turned up and that was just too much, I had to leave. I needed time to myself after so much happening new to me in such a short time."

"OK, no more big parties until you can cope with all those people."

"Thank you my friend. How is the thesis going."

"Oh yes, I have for another chapter finished. My supervisor thinks I should be able to submit the thesis by the end of the year."

"Excellent news, may I see this latest chapter?..."

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Two hours, another cup of tea and some more slices of cake later

"I think if you change that section of the chapter it will be a lot better. What will you have to do after this chapter?"

"The final chapter is half done, when I finish that everything will be there, I will just have to tidy everything up. I will see my supervisor next week and we will discuss what I should do next."

Then Penny came through the door.

"Sheldon is here, hello sweetie. It is great to see you again?"

"Good afternoon Penny, come and have some cake before we eat it all."

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Later that evening, when Penny and Bernadette had gone to the Cheesecake Factory, Sheldon was back in his apartment when he checked his email.

From: Leonard dot Hofstadter at physics dot caltech dot edu

To: Sheldon dot Cooper at physics dot caltech dot edu

Dear Sheldon

The girls told me that you came over to 4A this afternoon, good to know. I have some interesting news from Caltech. We have a visiting scientist here from Germany for the next 6 months. Dr. Andreas Paulmann from Stuttgart, he is a theoretical physicist. Leslie gave a seminar a couple of days ago and Dr. Paulmann very politely ripped her theory to shreds, you would have enjoyed it. Dr. Paulmann is keen to meet you, will you be coming to Caltech on Monday for the discussion? Don't worry, Leslie and Barry will not be there.

Best wishes

Leonard


	11. Herr Doktor Cooper

A retelling of the first episode where Sheldon lives alone in apartment 4B and meets two young ladies who move in across the hall. Part 11, Sheldon returns to Caltech. Everything belongs to Lorre and Prady.

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Next Monday in Leonard and Sheldon's office.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Come in. Oh good it's Dr. Paulmann"

"Guten Morgen"

"Guten Morgen to you Dr. Paulmann. May I introduce my friend and colleague Dr. Sheldon Cooper."

"Herr Doktor Cooper, wonderful to make your acquaintance."

"Good to meet you Dr. Paulmann, please sit down. I read some of your recent papers over the weekend, we should have an interesting discussion this morning..."

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2 and a half hours later in the canteen. Howard meets up with Leonard and Sheldon.

"Good to see you back here at Caltech Sheldon. How was your discussion?"

"Oh we had a great time. A visiting scientist from Germany, Dr. Paulmann, joined us this week. He speaks excellent English but his vocabulary doesn't include any rude words. It was a very civilised discussion. How was your morning Howard?"

"I have to give a talk by Skype this afternoon to NASA about my Venus infrared camera, I have been preparing all morning. This will be a progress report, I need to send them my prototype next month."

"Well Howard, I must say that it sounds 'out of this world'"

"Very funny Sheldon."

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Later that evening Howard is on the phone.

"Hi Bernie, just wanted to talk to you before you go off to the Cheesecake Factory. My talk to NASA was fine, just got to get the prototype camera to them. What have you girls been doing to Sheldon? He tried to crack a joke at lunchtime!..."


	12. Spock and Kirk

A retelling of the first episode where Sheldon lives alone in apartment 4B and meets two young ladies who move in across the hall. Part 12, a new experience for Sheldon. Everything belongs to Lorre and Prady.

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One month after the initial meeting with Dr. Paulmann, Sheldon got into a new routine. On Monday mornings he would talk Physics with Leonard and Dr. Paulmann, Thursday night it would be pizza night in 4A. Occasionally he would have a cup of tea with his neighbours. Then one Wednesday Sheldon's phone rang.

"Hello Penny, can I help you."

"I have some news about tomorrow night, we both need to work Thursday and Friday nights this week so no pizza party."

"Oh dear, I enjoy eating pizza with you."

"So we have a suggestion for you. If you like to eat pizza we serve it at the Cheesecake Factory. Would you like to come with us and see where we work. The boys will join us there and we can serve food to the three of you. One of the boys will bring you back home when you have finished. What do you think of that?"

"OK, I can give it a try."

"Well done sweetie. We have to leave at 6.00pm, how about you come over for a cup of tea at 5.00pm. Bernie wants a word with you about her thesis."

"I look forward to seeing you tomorrow Penny."

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Next day 5.00pm. Knock knock knock "Penny and Bernadette", knock knock knock "Penny and Bernadette", knock knock knock "Penny and Bernadette".

"Hello sweetie, punctual as ever. Bernie is getting changed for the Cheesecake Factory, I will make the tea. Here she is now."

"Hello Sheldon."

"Good evening ladies. This should be an interesting experience, I haven't eaten in a restaurant for over 10 years."

"Don't worry Sheldon, we will look after you, isn't that right Penny."

"That's right Bernie. OK here is your tea, I will go and get changed for the Cheesecake Factory."

"How is the thesis Bernadette."

"The first draft of the complete thesis is finished! My supervisor said if I can get it to her by this time tomorrow then she would have a look at it over the weekend. She says that if it looks good she will start to make enquiries into who will be my thesis examiners. I will make the last minute changes tomorrow morning, there are a few things on which I would like your opinion."

"How exciting, well done Bernadette. So what do you want to talk about?..."

############################################################

75 minutes later at the Cheesecake Factory, Sheldon is sat with Leonard and Howard.

"Good evening gentlemen, my name is Penny. What would you like to eat this evening?"

Fifteen minutes later all three men are eating pizza.

Sheldon said "do you want to hear a joke?"

Leonard said "why not."

"How many ears has Mr. Spock got?"

Howard said "I don't know, how many ears has Mr. Spock got?"

"Two, a left ear and a right ear. Now, how many ears has Captain Kirk got?"

Leonard said "I don't know Sheldon, how many ears has Captain Kirk got?"

"Three, a left ear, a right ear and a final front-ear."

Leonard and Howard both burst out laughing as Bernadette walked past.

"Bernie, what have you been doing with Sheldon?"

1 hour later, just before Leonard took him home, Sheldon insisted on paying the bill for all three and he left a big tip for Penny and Bernadette.

"I wanted to pay as the ladies have been such good friends and neighbours to me. I don't want to be one of those people who relies on his neighbours for food all the time. This was fun, we should do this again some time."


	13. Thesis acknowledgement

A retelling of the first episode where Sheldon lives alone in apartment 4B and meets two young ladies who move in across the hall. Part 13, Bernadette gets ready to submit her thesis. Everything belongs to Lorre and Prady.

############################################################

Six weeks after his first visit to the Cheesecake Factory Sheldon was drinking tea with Bernadette.

"So Bernadette, this is it, your completed Ph.D thesis. Congratulations."

"Thank you Sheldon, I wouldn't have got it done so quickly without your help. I will submit the thesis tomorrow, but before I submit I have one more page of the thesis to show you."

Sheldon looked at the acknowledgments page, this ended with "Finally thanks to my friend and neighbour Dr. Sheldon Cooper for his invaluable help in the writing of this thesis."

"That is very kind of you Bernadette."

"Don't mention it Dr. Cooper. OK, time to get ready for the Cheesecake Factory. Will you be here for pizza tomorrow night?"

"I will see you at 7.00pm, thank you for the tea Bernadette, good evening."

############################################################

Next evening at 7.15pm Howard and Leonard had arrived for the pizza party. Leonard was telling Bernadette all about his Ph.D thesis examination.

Then Howard said "where is Sheldon, it's not like him to be late? He said on Monday at Caltech that he was coming."

Bernadette said "I had a cup of tea with him yesterday, he said he was coming."

"Hello sweetie, this is Penny, we are all over here eating pizza, where are you?"

Leonard said "any answer?"

"No he didn't answer the phone!"

One minute later outside 4B.

Knock knock knock "Sheldon", knock knock knock "Sheldon", knock knock knock "Sheldon". "Are you OK in there Sheldon?"

Then they heard a very faint cry of "help!"

Howard said "OK we are here Sheldon, we will get help." Howard then took out his Swiss Army Knife and removed the cover off the keypad on the door of 4B.

Five minutes later Howard pressed one button on the keypad and the door unlocked. They all burst in to see Sheldon collapsed on the floor of his apartment.

"Sheldon!" Leonard called 911 "I need an ambulance straight away at Apartment 4B, 2311 North Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena..."


	14. Recovery and pizza

A retelling of the first episode where Sheldon lives alone in apartment 4B and meets two young ladies who move in across the hall. Part 14, at the hospital. Everything belongs to Lorre and Prady.

############################################################

3 hours after Sheldon had been found on the floor of the apartment his friends were all waiting anxiously at the hospital.

Then a non-Ph.D Doctor came into the waiting area and said "friends of Sheldon Cooper?"

"That's us."

"He has a very badly twisted ankle but nothing is broken. He should be fine in a couple of weeks, good job you found him when you did. Do you want to go and see him?"

Five minutes later

"Hi sweetie." "Hello Sheldon." "Good to see you." "Good evening Dr. Cooper."

Sheldon had no objection to being hugged by Penny and Bernadette. "Thank you my friends."

"So what happened?"

"Around 6.00pm I slipped in the shower. I managed to eventually get out of the shower and get into my dressing gown. I hopped into the living room to call for help when I must have fallen over and blacked out. Then I heard you knocking on the door, I called for help. You got in somehow and called for an ambulance. Next thing I remember was waking up in the hospital."

"You gave us quite a fright sweetie."

"How did you open my door lock?"

Howard said "you don't want to know Sheldon, all I can say is that you should get a better electronic door lock but let us know the combination for emergencies like this."

"Sorry for spoiling the pizza party. Did you submit your thesis Bernadette?"

"Yes I did, it was very anticlimactic. The university administration person barely acknowledged my presence when I handed it over."

"So what happens next?"

"The thesis examination will be in six weeks time."

"I see, we will have to help you get ready, isn't that right Dr. Hofstadter?"

"That's right Dr. Cooper. So what will happen to you Sheldon?"

"They want to keep me in the hospital overnight for observation but I should be OK to return home tomorrow. Could someone bring me some clothes and my phone tomorrow?..."

############################################################

Next day Sheldon was released from hospital. His friends drove him home, it took 20 minutes to get Sheldon up the stairs to 4B. Bernadette said "You are a lot taller than the other boys Sheldon."

As soon as they had made Sheldon comfortable then Howard and Sheldon looked online for a new more secure electronic door lock. Over the weekend someone kept Sheldon company at all times, Howard and Leonard stayed with Sheldon when the girls were at the Cheesecake Factory. Bernadette and Penny took it in turns to sleep on Sheldon's sofa over the weekend in case of emergency whilst the other 3 were all in 4A. By Monday Sheldon was a bit more mobile, he only needed one crutch to walk instead of two. Howard and Leonard went back to work, the girls kept him company during the daytime on Monday. The new door lock was fitted in the afternoon, Sheldon was able to persuade the girls to go off and work the Monday evening shift at the Cheesecake Factory.

On Tuesday Penny and Bernadette took Sheldon to the hospital for a check up. Sheldon entered with 2 crutches but left with a walking stick. It only took 5 minutes, with some help from the girls, to get Sheldon up the stairs of the apartment building to 4B. Tuesday night had the other 4 over to 4B for a huge pizza party. He greeted Penny and Bernadette with friendly hugs and Leonard and Howard with firm handshakes "good evening my friends, come and eat some pizza."


	15. Sheldon's shopping trip

A retelling of the first episode where Sheldon lives alone in apartment 4B and meets two young ladies who move in across the hall. Part 15, back to Caltech. Everything belongs to Lorre and Prady.

############################################################

Next Monday Sheldon was still walking with a stick but was mobile enough to go to Caltech for the morning discussion with Leonard and Dr. Paulmann. After lunch with Howard and Leonard Sheldon went to see Professor Gablehauser.

"Good afternoon Dr. Cooper, glad to see you back on your feet."

"Thank you Professor, good to be back at Caltech."

"How was your discussion this morning?"

"Fascinating, I am glad that Dr. Paulmann is visiting. We are working on a joint paper."

"Good to know you are still doing some new Physics."

"Yes, time to go home and carry on working. I shall see you next month Professor."

############################################################

Sheldon continued to work hard on his science at home but he would take time out once a day for a cup of tea with Penny and/or Bernadette. Thursday night he would host his friends in 4B for pizza. One Friday night Sheldon went to eat with Howard and Leonard at the Cheesecake Factory before all three of them went to the cinema to watch the new "Star Trek" movie.

Three weeks after he slipped in the shower Penny took him back to the hospital for a final checkup. He left with a clean bill of health and no walking stick. On the way back they went to the shopping mall, Sheldon took Penny out to lunch as a thank you and then Sheldon bought an adhesive anti-slip mat for his bathtub.

Whilst all this was going on Dr. Cooper and Dr. Hofstadter were helping Bernadette prepare for her Ph.D thesis examination, Leonard and Sheldon took a crash course in microbiology so that they could understand some of the thesis.

In the week leading up to the Ph.D examination Penny did all of Bernadette's shifts at the Cheesecake Factory. Bernadette spent a lot of time at her university talking with her biology colleagues, in the evening she was having thesis examination practice with Leonard and Sheldon. With two nights to go Howard took her out for a romantic dinner to try and help her relax as the big day approached.


	16. What's up Doc?

A retelling of the first episode where Sheldon lives alone in apartment 4B and meets two young ladies who move in across the hall. Part 16, Bernadette's Ph.D examination day. Everything belongs to Lorre and Prady.

############################################################

Bernadette's big day was a Thursday, Howard took a day off work to take Bernadette to her university.

After three hours of mental torture and then an endless 10 minute wait whilst the Ph.D examiners deliberated Bernadette was back in the examination room.

The chief examiner spoke

"Well done, it is all over. Provided that you make the changes indicated to your thesis we will recommend to the university that you should be awarded a Ph.D. Congratulations DOCTOR Rostenkowski!"

############################################################

Howard brought her home in the afternoon to start the celebrating.

Sheldon gave Bernadette a very friendly hug and a gift. "Congratulations Dr. Rostenkowski, this is for you." Inside the package was a new tea mug with DOCTOR inscribed on one side and a box of tea bags.

"Thank you Dr. Cooper, I couldn't have done it without you. Don't bother ordering pizza tonight, we are all going out to a fancy restaurant as soon as Leonard gets home."

############################################################

Later that evening, when all five were seated in the restaurant, Sheldon raised his glass of water and said

"My friends, a toast to Dr. Bernadette Rostenkowski, many congratulations to our friend."

"Thank you everyone."

Howard then said "So what is next Bernie?"

"Well tomorrow morning I will make all the corrections needed to my thesis and get it reprinted. Then I can resubmit the thesis to the university so they can rubber stamp the decision of the thesis examiners and make my doctorate official. Then in the evening I have to return to the Cheesecake Factory to work Friday night, I also have to work all day Saturday and Sunday to pay Penny back for all the shifts she has done for me this week."

"That's right, a weekend off for me, what shall we do Leonard?"

"Then next Tuesday I have a job interview at Caltech!"

In unison Sheldon, Leonard and Howard said "Caltech!".

"Yes boys, I didn't want to let you know about this until I had got the Ph.D. This is for a job as an assistant experimental officer in the biology department. Caltech said they were prepared to wait for me to get my Ph.D before the interview..."


	17. Advice for Sheldon

A retelling of the first episode where Sheldon lives alone in apartment 4B and meets two young ladies who move in across the hall. Part 17, Sheldon asks Bernadette and Penny for advice. Everything belongs to Lorre and Prady.

############################################################

Two months later Sheldon had his usual Monday morning Caltech discussion. Afterwards in the canteen Sheldon introduced a new colleague to his friends.

"Hello Howard and Bernadette, may I introduce my Physics colleague Dr. Sally Garcia. Dr. Garcia these are my friends Howard Wolowitz from engineering and his girlfriend Dr. Bernadette Rostenkowski from biology. You know that Dr. Paulmann recently returned to Germany, well Dr. Garcia is a new member of staff, I decided that she was smart enough to join in with Leonard in my Monday morning Physics discussion. She said that she was going to the canteen for lunch so I invited her to join us."

"Hello Dr. Garcia."

"Yes welcome Dr. Garcia, not many get invited to join in Sheldon's Physics discussions."

"I am honoured, nice to meet the two of you."

############################################################

Later that evening

Knock knock knock "Penny and Bernadette", knock knock knock "Penny and Bernadette", knock knock knock "Penny and Bernadette".

"Hi sweetie" "Hello Sheldon"

"Good evening ladies. Penny, how long before you go out to the Cheesecake Factory?"

"I am leaving in half an hour."

"Oh good, I need to talk to you both."

"OK, how about a cup of tea?"

Five minutes later as they drank tea

"OK ladies, today Bernadette met my Physics colleague Dr. Sally Garcia at lunchtime, what did you think of her?"

"She seemed nice enough on a first meeting."

"Good, I am glad that you liked her. I need advice from you ladies, I want to ask Dr. Garcia out on a date..."


End file.
